#Reload Festival | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

veryfrickingqueer · 9 months

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Thankfully I'm not hungover anymore and I was at the Reload festival this weekend and yes

It was amazing, I had the chance to see a lot of bands I couldn't see for whatever reason the past year, such as Trivium, In Flames or 100 kilo herz.

I think the absolute weirdest experience was Sleep Token. I can't even describe how absolute fucking insane seeing them life was. I'm not that much of a Sleep Token Fan but that was just. Insane. I loved every minute of it. And I'd advise everyone if they're on a festival where they play to got see them. I did not take a picture tho because. I was just too into whatever the hell was going on on the stage to realize that I should have taken a picture.

Generally I took like five pictures. Probably because Saturday after 4pm I was just too drunk to take a picture that did not look like this

(the only I took after seeing Sepultura (their show made me a trash metal fan. I'm usually no trash metal fan but seeing them and that energy I literally get it now))

I'm sorry Falk i didn't do you justice but also I was standing in the front row and was just trying to kind of get the amount of crowd surfers over the barricade like you do.

My other three pictures were a pretty good one of 100 kilo herz who did get far less stage time than they deserved but I'm not in charge of the time table, one of the welcome home sign and the stage background picture however you'd call it of Trivium because if looked so fucking cool and in contrast to like all the other ones, besides Guano Apes, was pretty colorful

Seeing this picture maybe I'm just bad at taking photos

Also ideal festival if you like it if it's not that much people but generally too short. Could have been longer but like I get that it costs more, especially for a smaller festival, to get the bands for more days. The weather was ideal. Not that warm but not too cold to camp. Not too sunny but not stormy full time.

There was a rainbow while Guano Apes.

9/10 for the festival generally but on the infield you could only buy becks. That was not that great especially if you don't drink cocktails

#metal #literally the worst photo of falk you'll ever see #falk maria schlegel #I'm sorry bro #powerwolf #trivium #festival #Reload Festival #Do they even have a tumblr tag #I don't know

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prettyinnoise · 2 years

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Reload Festival mit Arch Enemy, As I Lay Dying und vielen mehr!

Wir stecken mitten drin in der Festivalsaison. Ihr habt bestimmt von unserem Festivalbericht vom Rock am Ring oder dem erstmaligen Delta Bash in Mannheim gelesen. Falls nicht, holt das gerne schnell nach. Natürlich kommen auch im August noch so einige Festivals auf uns zu und heute wollen wir euch das Reload Festival in Sulingen, Niedersachsen vorstellen. Das Festival gibt es seit dem Jahr 2006…

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#Reload Festival

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tourandbackstagestories · 2 years

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Reload Festival 2022

18 -20 August 2022, Sulingen, Germany

More Information and tickets at https://www.reload-festival.de/

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there-is-just-me-myself-and-i · 1 year

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_david.friedrich_ (instagram post)

#david friedrich #electric callboy #🥁🥁🥁#reload festival 2022

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alexdawnartwork · 2 years

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Ragnarok Reloaded || My movie for the FFFI MU 2021.

#admovies #movie #ragnarok reloaded #vikings #legends #movie festival #modern era #soul #fffi mu #fffi mu 2021

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travellingnews · 2 years

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Nova Pars Festival Reloaded_Ένα πολυθεματικό φεστιβάλ για όλες τις τέχνες στο θέατρο Altera Pars

Το Nova Pars Festival δεν είναι κάτι καινούργιο ούτε για εμάς, ούτε για τις θεατρικές νύχτες της πόλης. Αντιθέτως, από το 2008 φιλοξένησε πολυάριθμες θεατρικές ομάδες και όχι μόνο, δίνοντας την ευκαιρία σε νέους καλλιτέχνες να παρουσιάσουν τη δουλειά τους, τις ιδέες τους, τις καλλιτεχνικές τους ανησυχίες, τη δική τους σκοπιά πάνω σε νέους και παλιούς καλλιτεχνικούς κώδικες.. Φέτος το φθινόπωρο,…

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#Nova Pars Festival Reloaded

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moonsaver · 3 months

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Yan!Sunday isn't someone who likes the spotlight.

I mean, it's obvious, even his normal character seems to be one that works behind the scenes, pulling taut strings until they snap one by one.

But Yan!Sunday leaves no exception, even when it comes to adoration.

The frequent visits you somehow always manage to make, scrounging up money from who knows where to afford all those tickets to Robin's concerts, meet-ups, fancalls, etc.. it's cute. Your devotion is almost admirable. Robin starts to recognize you more as a friend or acquaintance than a superfan, which is a great feat for someone like you – a measly fan who managed to get through from constant meetings and relying on a superstar's memory.

It isn't a surprise when you're invited by The Oak Family to Penacony for the Charmony festival, when it arrives. Imprompt shows, coincidental fan meetings as both Sunday and Robin work for the festival eventually leads you and Sunday to meet. It's almost unfortunate for you, things go awry at the last moment. Ticket prices soar the moment you reload the page, the line brutally cuts off right before you for the autograph signing, and the cameras just don't work whenever you want a photo.. it's comical to Sunday, in a way.

Of course, just as it is his responsibility to look after his sister, he talks to you, subtly scrutinizing your body language for any suspicion. It's not uncommon for creeps to appear in Robin's huge audience. He manages to flag you clear, however, when you talk about her in such a lively and innocent manner. It's almost as if you'd been her childhood friend. Something about it is so endearing to Sunday.

Hmm.. since he's taken such a liking to you, why not let him help you out a bit? You may have not been able to scrounge the money for Robin's new concert at the last minute, but don't worry, he can take you backstage, and let you see her performance from a completely different angle. He's family, he can get you to many more places than your fan-title. Soft chuckling as you mention almost losing your ticket because the page decided to glitch at that very moment, you just had to go bankrupt during the payment, and your phone ran out of battery that moment you were in the middle of one of Robin's best performances. It's cute. Spend some more time with him, too, won't you? He's a brother of hers, surely you'd be interested in knowing him, too?

Secret entries to Robin's backstage or VIP rooms turn into imprompt escapades, playfully and softly laughing as he leads you with a firm grasp of your hand somewhere peaceful, a large contrast to Robin's bustling concerts. The night air is cool, serene and quiet, much like Sunday. The night falls and remains in darkness to let the stars shine brighter. And Sunday tells you this over a quiet moment between you two. He never liked the spotlight, bustling crowds, loud noises.. people.

Unfortunately, your meetings came to an abrupt halt. At least.. it was unfortunate for Sunday. Your eyes always lit up at the end of the night, being able to meet Robin and talk about just how amazing her performance was, how happy you are with the opportunity to meet her again, and that you're so glad she remembers you. The spotlight belonged to his sister, and he was more than happy to let her have it.

But.. if it meant your eyes were for hers, it just never settled in him well.

Surely, there was a single admirer for the darkness of the night sky? The vast, velvety black expanse that held stars with the edge of it's fingertips? A single one.

His entire sky craved you.

And.. well, his sister has everything, doesn't she? She's quite generous too, like you said. Perhaps she'll help him out, just this once?

Suddenly, all your VIP tickets seemed to no longer matter. Shifted to waiting rooms where Sunday just so happened to be, backstages were empty and almost desolate, Sunday being the only "staff member" there, guiding you with his familiar firm grip on your hand, always back to that place where he shared that quiet moment with you.

The moments only got quieter and longer,however.

Sunday took notice of it, far before you did. Awkward, polite laughing trailing off into poorly hidden disappointment, the stuttering of your tongue as you try not to mention Robin again, the polite smile on his face telling you it's okay to start over, but never stop trying. The constant, slow push towards him instead of your favorite singer, seemed to only cause a repulsion between you two. He was extremely bitter about it.

Of course, he wouldn't dare take it out on sweet Robin. She's just an amazing singer, he doesn't dare blame her – she's admirable in many ways. But Robin doesn't miss the undertone bitterness that carries the flow of your name on his tongue.

Eventually – Robin stops meeting you. She stops looking at you in the crowds. She refuses autographs, fancalls, etc..

It does break your heart. A little.

Why don't you go to Sunday? He's family after all. He can help you reach closer. The walk to where she is, is not that long. Accompany him for a while, will you? Let him keep the firm grip of his hand in yours. He'll fix everything.

And when your excited face morphs into disappointment once again, as both of you fail to find her after her concert is just perfect. Let him comfort you, hm? He's very understanding.. and quiet. He listens to you so well. Perhaps.. being with Sunday isn't as bad as you thought? Maybe.. instead of searching for Robin over and over, you'd like to spend time with him instead. No one can comfort you better than Family, right?

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k0juki · 21 hours

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You and Mafia Max having a night out in the Netherlands.

Mafia!Max Verstappen

Carneval night

English is not my first language so feel free to point out any mistakes or errors! Also the picture is not mine! Credit goes to owner!

More Mafia!Max posts here!

A/n: The time-line is before they broke up.

Wc: 624

---

You were only a few months in the Netherlands, so Max thought that it would be fun to show you around Amsterdam.

At first you were here just because of your father, but after some time and meeting some new people, including Max, you decided to stay here, with him.

Amsterdam has become more than just a temporary stop—now it's your home, filled with love and adventure. You fell in love with him, and he did the same.

"I heard there's a street festival here." Max suggested and wrapped his arm around your waist. "Live music, delicious food stalls, and carnival games. I thought you would like it."

"That doesn't sound so bad." You teased him, but he can't say he doesn't like it, because he does like it.

As you stroll through the vibrant streets of Amsterdam, the festive atmosphere fills you with excitement. You really liked this place, because it wasn't anything like back home in London.

"Oh, look Max, they have these big stuffed animals here!" You pointed out and made your way to that booth with Max right beside you.

"Who do I have to shoot to get that donkey?" You asked and took that heavy gun. Max and the stall holder laughed. "I mean it."

"Yeah, she's not joking." Max grined and gave warning look to that guy. It was sign that nor Max or you were joking. You really wanted that stupit stuffed animal.

"I'm sure you do young lady, the rules are simple, you have to shoot down the cans. That's all." He explained, as he moved aside, you pointed the gun at cans and shot. Completely missed. It was harder than you expected.

At first, Max was just wheezing, so you didn't mind him much, but after some time... "That was amazing love, you have to teach me." He laughted and clapped his hands.

"Oh, ha ha...I'm just warming up." You adjusted the gun and shot. Missed again.

That couldn't be right, the gun was just too heavy. And what was worse, Max's laugh starts to piss you off. Did he want to die? You were sure he did. You said nothing and just gave him a long side eye. If look could kill, Max would be instantly dead.

"Someone is asking for trouble." You whispered and shot the last shoot. Nothing.

You put the gun down and turned to Max with both hands on your hips. "You wanna try it, Emilian?"

That shut him up, because everyone that was close to Max and you knew that you normally didn't call Max Emilian. More like Max, Maxi or love. You were really pissed off.

But he didn't waste any second and took the gun the moment it was reloaded and perfectly shot three times, all cans fell down.

Max looked at you with a smug face and put down the gun. You just crossed your arms as that stallholder cherished and congratulated Max, he just laughed a little and said, "I will take that donkey."

As Max handed you that stuffed animal, he leaned his head down and kissed your cheek. "For a pretty lady, one big donkey."

You thanked Max and took his hand in yours, everything was forgiven. And then you started dragging him to another interesting place you saw.

But you didn't notice how Max turned back to the stallholder and how they exchanged a long glances of knowing, he knew who Max was, so even if Max didn't shoot right after you, he would give you that stuffed donkey himself.

His life was worth more than some plush.

"What do you say we look for next?" Max asked and put his arm back around you. Even though you were completely clueless, but still happy.

---

🫶

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bellucci-daily · 8 months

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Monica Bellucci at the screening of The Matrix Reloaded at the Cannes Film Festival, 2003.

#monica bellucci #monicabellucci #belluccidaily #italian beauty #actress #premiere #appearance #public appearance #*#edit #vanessa #dailywomen #userbbelcher #userklaudia #flawlessbeautyqueens #femaledaily #userladiesblr #userladiesofcinema

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starlightfallz · 22 days

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🌺The Woodwindstock music festival is opening in only 10 Days! Vinyl City is busier than ever preparing for the long awaited festival!

Once again we're hosting a art event in our NSR discord server, if you're interested check below! Please note the server is 15+! 🌺

The Art made for the promo was made by our moderator @cometshaper !

#no straight roads #nsr #nsr discord

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orangelemonsstuff · 1 year

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so you guys know in ddlc that there's this one scene where monika forces the player's mouse to move down to choose her? yes that. BUT MAKE IT TWST AND SELF AWARE!!! (meaning the game didn't code Malleus/Monika to do it)

Leona as Natsuki, Azul as Yuri, and of course Malleus as Monika.

warning: Horror themes since its inspired by ddlc

...

You've been playing a visual novel for about 4 hours now.

you can't help it it was just so enticing, the characters, the plot, the artstyle and pacing. its so good

Choices aren't that much special to this game as you heard there's only one ending but the cgi's are completely different between route of choices. its no matter to you though, you save a choosing point and then after reading that route you'll reload again to read the other

as much as you knew some people do this recklessly to just see the CGIs, you on the other hand is wisely thinking of whom you'd choose first to see their scenario and then second, and then third, so on. as if you consider their actual feelings

it felt like it isn't any of your typical visual novel, you feel as if the characters are actually talking to you behind the screen and actually cares about the real you, especially that one specific character.

his name is Malleus

He's one of the mysterious type of character, he plays the violin, he likes ice creams and apparently dragon statues. you choose him first everytime you come across a choice event and practically you always see his special events and scenarios too

but sometimes you can't help but feel it

you are alone in your room but you can't help... feel the feeling of being watched. something whispering. something's or someone's presence together with you in the room

and whenever you'd look behind your back to see no one is there then turn back to your computer, you'd see an enlarged Malleus up to your screen staring with those with light yet emotionless smile and eyes

you could be imagining it. but when you checked the reviews for the game it doesn't say anything about Malleus popping up like that, yes some bugs about the game dialogue or settings but it doesn't relate to what you're experiencing.

your headphones was still in your ears so it definitely surprised you when the bright music stopped and the dialogue sfx chimes in

Malleus:

"What are you looking at?"

well that scared you, you must've clicked a button to proceed the dialogue.

Malleus backed away but it still nerved you when the music stopped altogether. it felt creepy

you close your phone and decided maybe it was just all your imagination or the game being buggy, you would say this in the review later so the devs could fix it

you return to your game and proceed with the dialogue smoothly, the current situation was a festival apparently and the main character of the game was supposed to be one of the managers of it

Azul:

"surely I'm the most fitting to help ____ to this festival, I'm the most efficient here."

you click.

Leona:

"Didn't i say I'll do it? won't that be a convenient for you Octopus?"

You click again but with a chuckle this time

"what a lovely sound"

Huh? what was that? did you just hear someone speak?

you rewind the game to Azul's dialogue again, you must've missed an voiceline easter egg...

you didn't.

you rewind it over and over again but there's no voiceline or anything. huh must've been just a one time thing

wait, there shouldn't be any voiceline in this game... there shouldn't be, it didn't come with a voice sound setting after all.

okay this is really weird.

you sigh, clicking the dialogue bubble again. you'll need a meal, a bath and sleep after this, you must've been really tired that you are hearing things and seeing things

Azul:

"Just let ____ make the choice okay?"

click

Malleus:

"Okay, fine... Fine."

click

Azul:

"Jeez... ____, i know how fed up you are with these two by now. we can jus-"

click

Leona:

"Azul, shut your fucking mouth and let them decide for themselves"

cli- wait hold on woah, did you just read that right? this game isn't supposed to be having strong languages, you were sure you checked the labels alright so why...? maybe it's part of the coded dialogue? you can't blame the devs adding some spice isn't so bad either

Azul:

"You shut you mouth!"

click

Malleus:

"Oh great seven, this is never going to end. just make the choice okay?"

the choice buttons shows up tallying from Azul next to Leona and then Malleus. you think about it carefully and as you think you might be showing a lot of favoritism towards Malleus, maybe its time for a little bit of change no worries though you'll save it and load for la-

huh?

that's weird

why can't you click the save and load button? you repeat your excessive clicking for a whole 2 minutes but you can't get to click the save button at all

was this game really buggy?

frustrated, you decide in your head to choose whoever except Malleus for a change but when you were about to pick Azul.

the mouse

it's....

moving...

....itself.

towards Malleus

what...? how is this possible? yeah your actual literal mouse within you isn't moving but the mouse on the screen is

is this supposed to be part of the game? no... this isn't... you have to check you have to

competent, you move the mouse again to pick but it kept moving down in its onw accord, you struggle to move it up after few tries but with timing you click on Leona with swiftness

a pair of green irises appeared on a white screen, familiar ones. the same eyes that looked to you earlier, a little too close for your liking.

a eerie silence waft around you, and the whirring of the computer can be the only thing heard outside of your headphones

you shake with fear, you gulp the tense in your throat, your eyes hurt with dryness not daring to take your eyes off the green eyes staring right at you and to see if this is real, you don't know what to do or what to believe.

you tried clicking your exit button more times than you can count but it wont exit the game, the cord connecting from the computer isn't far but you fear that even if you move a little or look away for a second, someone or something would jump out of the screen to god who knows what it'd to you

courage or curiosity, whatever it is, it made you click the blank white screen with floating irises to at least something would happen to just make this all stop.

an eerie endless dialogue sfx was blasted into your ears as a multiple choice boxes of the name "Malleus" appeared in your screen

???:

"Wxkabdbealem!?(19_++_;4)0#?$;(akwjrbeboxibrbrwoOAiebevtbwkwksokw@910-~¢jsjsjwb@+2;2-akejjrrrneejrwownrbtlwalalxndndebwkwowowoqpeh=`=¢¶%¶kwkwpqowhsbebejwWxkabdbealem!?(19_++_;4)0#?$;(akwjrbeboxibrbrwoOAiebevtbwkwksokw@910-~¢jsjsjwb@+2;2"

your ears felt like bleeding and nausea came over to you, you feel like throwing up right there and then, pass out, die. anything to make it stop

with a strained shaky hand you click Malleus as the screen turned back to the game normally again as if nothing happened

Malleus:

"Im happy you picked me."

sweat drips from your temples as you exit the game and pull the plug of the cord and stepped back from the monitor not even bothering to save the game or your discarded headphones

you try to steady your breath few times to calm down the loud thumping of your heart from horror and shock, you sat up to your bed trying to wipe off the nervousness off of you before standing up and sprinting off the door.

maybe you didn't thoroughly checked your game settings or code files, or maybe you did, you just didn't paid that much attention to it

you pulled the plug at him, stepped back with horror and ran away not even bothering to save the game or take a listen at your discarded headphones

the headphones played the same bright music from earlier.

Auto Saving....

Saving Complete!

Tip: This game loads where you left at.

•••

AN: this was out of the sudden burst of inspiration btw. (i mean none of my fics aren't lol) But hope ya enjoyed it, i rlly loved DDLC, i did copy some of the dialogues i hope its okay since i have no idea what to make them say lol but DDLC stays original for me.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst fanfic #twst scenarios #twst x reader #twst malleus #yandere twst #twst malleus draconia x reader #twst malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia #twst yandere #twst leona #twst azul #twst mc #self aware au #twst self aware au

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jtownholla · 2 months

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Please find links to all my mods here, I will try to update weekly with any changes/updates. As always, please go direct to the modder or check Deaderpool's discord for any urgent mod updates. cas

more cas columns

ea eyelash remover

toddler eyelash remover

stand still in cas

default teeth

gallery poses

more gallery poses

couples gallery pose

pink cas background

more cas traits

lifestyle traits

zodiac signs mod

no makeup & accessories on randomized sims

overrides

pink UI

better seasonal changes

remove purchase cart button

map replacements

better exceptions

no fade on objects

gameplay mc command center

ui cheats

relationship & pregnancy overhaul

xml injector

everyone sleep together

pregnancy overhaul

party anywhere

simsrealist banking

private practice

mortem

home and land company

real estate market reimagined

run when bursting to pee

no autonomous clay molding

childbirth mod

pet care activities

family therapy

no swipe cooldown

better blackmail payouts

after school activities

dynamic teen life

towel after shower

morning routine

alchemy overhaul

child star career

royal family mod

reality tv

children can die of anything

less vampire thirst

bloody vampire bites

vampire bloodlines

earn as you learn apprenticeships

infant & toddler medical care

music festival

psycho ex trait

in-depth emotions

dine out reloaded

take shoes off to nap

short university degrees

functional bathroom clutter

functional perfume

mature gameplay

wicked whims

basemental drugs

basemental gangs

aep webcam model

simda dating app

nisa's wicked perversions

stripper career

onlysims

sugar life

bouncing boobies

pole dance

brawling

sacrificial extreme violence

nights of terror

zombie apocalypse

life's tragedies

end of the world

road to fame

life's drama

sim torments

possessed child

torture and chaos

♥️

enjoy!

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whoatemyshoe · 10 months

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Rina Sawayama 'Hold The Girl Tour: Reloaded' set at Glastonbury Festival (2023)

#rina sawayama #hold the girl #hold the girl: reloaded #htg #hold the girl: reloaded tour #queer asian musicians #queer asian artists #asian central #rina #sawayama #tw: flashing #tw: flashing gifs #my gifs #would like to be at a htg:r show one day #in PERSON not through IG STORIES or STREAMS and shit

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snowball-maltese · 1 month

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Let me take Ikutsuki to the film festival Reload >:(

#persona 3 reload #shuji ikutsuki #shujiposting

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alexdawnartwork · 2 years

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youtube

Ragnarok Reloaded || My movie for the FFFI MU 2021.

#admovies #movies #fffi mu #fffi mu 2021 #movie festival #ragnarok reloaded #ragnarok #vikings #legends #modern era #soul

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bltngames · 5 months

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Let's Talk About Fortnite's Big New Update

It's been about a week since Fortnite added its three new main modes, so I figured I could jot down some notes about how I feel about each one, since I continue to play an absolute obscene amount of this game, given it's basically the only live service game I've ever connected with.

Lego Fortnite

This is maybe the biggest new mode added to the game, and at a glance, you might think it's their take on Minecraft. Having put about 10-20 hours into it now, I can tell you it's a lot more like Valheim, sprinkled with a bit of Terraria. It's a survival game, where your goal is to start a town out in the procedurally generated wilderness. As your town levels up in size and complexity, you attract NPCs to take up residence, which you can put to work gathering resources, manage farms, cook food, or party up to help you explore the world and raid various caves.

There's enough content here to support that 10-20 hours, but you'll eventually run out of things to do, given there's just three biomes and only a handful of creatures. Updates are already promising things like merchants, more creatures and even quest givers, so it definitely feels like it has legs, and I think what's here plays well enough. It just feels more like a foundation right now. This is one of those things where, like, it may be worth checking in on 6 months down the road, because there's a lot of potential it could grow into. And hey, it's the only one of these modes that doesn't have any additional fees hooked on top of it yet. That's a plus.

Rocket Racing

Created by Psyonix, this is a racing mode that's a little hard to quantify. The actual racing mechanics themselves are solid: drift to charge up three levels of boost, with a kind of "active reload" system that can almost double your boost if you hit it just right. There's a jump button, and your jump jets can be used to hover over hazards. After you jump, you can also use the drift button to perform a flip in four directions, because your car can also drive up walls and across the ceiling. So, if you jump, push up on the stick, and then tap the drift key, you'll flip up on to the ceiling. Despite all of this mechanical complexity, Rocket Racing still feels too simple to have much lasting power. Some of the fun of a racing game is how everyone tunes their vehicles differently, but so far there's just the the one Rocket Racing car.

Epic and Psyonix could be going for more of a Trackmania feel, and user-generated tracks (the main appeal of Trackmania) are something they're teasing for Rocket Racing, but it's worth mentioning that Trackmania has always seemed kind of niche. It's never had the success of something like Forza Horizon or even Need for Speed.

This also has one major strike against it that Trackmania does not: you collide with other players in Rocket Racing, which is actually sort of a nightmare thanks to network latency. I've run into a lot of shockingly aggressive opponents that treat the game like bumper cars, and every time they crash into you, it's like rolling the dice as to whether or not the collision will actually register. Sometimes your opponent harmlessly slides off the side of your car, and other times the most gentle tap will send you into a tailspin. I wouldn't call the mode terrible, but judging by Fortnite's own menu system, player numbers are dropping fast. It's cool being able to flip around between walls and the ceiling, but there's not enough to sink your teeth into long-term besides overpriced vehicle cosmetics.

Fortnite Festival

This is literally just Rock Band 5. The main change is the way you play notes -- there's no plastic instrument support yet (that's coming later, apparently), so you're limited to playing it on either a keyboard or a gamepad. The way the buttons are mapped out by default, there are certain combinations of notes they are never going to make you press together, because it's impossible to hit both left and right on the d-pad simultaneously. Besides that, I'm not kidding, it's actually just Rock Band, and unfortunately I'm one of those people who struggles to connect with rhythm games.

I love something like Parappa the Rapper or even Theatrhythm, but I just don't connect with a lot of the genre in the same way most people do. This version does at least connect to Fortnite's cosmetics system, so you can have Michael Myers singing vocals in Gangnam Style, backed up by Beast Boy and Ellen Ripley wearing a Ghostbusters proton pack. During downtime where you might not have any notes to play, you're given the option to use your Fortnite emotes. That's fun enough on its own, but it's extra fun on skins with transformation abilities. Going back to Beast Boy, it's fun to watch the camera pan by him in his regular Teen Titans attire, only for him to suddenly be a bass-playing gorilla the next time you see him.

Also included are "Jam Tracks", which let you play specific pieces of songs outside of the Rock Band mode. So if you want, during a Battle Royale match, you could start playing the bassline to Seven Nation Army at any time, anywhere, and even change the pitch and tempo. Other players can choose to join in, adding vocal tracks, or lead guitar, or drums, all from different songs, creating a strange sort of on-the-fly mashup. It's not super deep, but I suppose it's there to justify the fact that songs in Fortnite Festival are roughly $5 each. Festival also has its own Battle Pass, at $18 -- almost twice what the Battle Royal Pass costs, and unlocking stuff on the Festival Pass feels like the slowest possible grind. Too many Festival quests only give 10 or 15 "points" towards the pass, when you often need THOUSANDS for the next unlock. Kind of a bummer!

Battle Royale

As a bonus, some commentary on the current chapter of BR: as of this latest iteration of Fortnite, it feels like they've basically rebooted the entire game. If you've been paying attention to industry news, Epic's had quite the exodus of high-ranking staff lately, leaving me with a feeling that a completely different team is handling Fortnite now. Every piece of the gameplay has been retooled seemingly overnight, from healing systems to movement speed. The best way to sum it all up is that it feels a lot more like PUBG now. But like, worse? Weapons have attachments now, foregrips and sights and stuff, but there's no way to pull a sight off one gun and put it on another. You can only buy attachments at a workbench, of which there's only, like, seven on the entire map.

So generally you're stuck with whatever attachments are already on a gun when you find it, and there's no easy way to compare attachments if you want to swap for something else. The previous system -- which was basically just WoW's rarity system -- was a lot clearer and easy to understand. A purple gun is always better than blue. Now those waters are a lot muddier, and you don't have access to the information you need to make informed decisions about what is better than what. The simplicity that made Fortnite more accessible than PUBG is gone now. The other changes just take some getting used to, but the slower movement does mean running from a closing storm circle is a lot harder in a way that feels like nobody on the team really understood or accounted for.

The main issue is that Battle Royale is still trying to be the "spotlight" mode in Fortnite right now, which means its trying to incorporate a little bit of everything and it's hurting the experience. The new cosmetics locker system is a total nightmare to use, more tedious in every single conceivable way, to such a degree it's hard to comprehend anyone actually thinking it's a legitimate improvement. Fortnite also tries to pull in your Rocket Racing cosmetics to BR now, but only for certain vehicles, which in itself taps into a long standing frustration with Fortnite's handling of vehicle cosmetics overall.

Close to five years ago, Fortnite introduced its "wraps" system for guns that work like liveries in a racing game -- basically a custom texture for your gun. Wraps have inconsistently applied to other things as well. Fortnite's earliest vehicles like the golf kart and quadbike accepted wraps, as did boats. There are even skins now that can wear wraps as clothing patterns.

But cars could never have wraps applied to them. There were hints that maybe wraps would eventually apply to vehicles, as there were updates where they started appearing on pieces of a vehicle, but never the whole thing. Now we finally get vehicle cosmetics, but it only applies to one vehicle type, and transforms it into a completely different car body? It feels half-baked and deeply arbitrary.

Fortnite has often had many different vehicle classes on the map together, between pickups, sports cars, sedans, and hauler trucks. But now the sports cars are the Rocket Racing car? It's cool on the surface, but a strange portent of future seasons. What of the other vehicle types? They're not in the game right now, but will they be? Will sports cars be a permanent fixture of the Fortnite map going forward, so the cosmetics always carry across between modes? Is this a hint that other vehicle types are coming to Rocket Racing, and that eventually, we'll be able to apply cosmetics to everything?

Which is to say nothing about the fact that wraps don't even seem to apply to guns anymore. There's a lot of systems that hook into wraps that they can't just get rid of -- but it definitely seems like whoever is in charge of things right now is trying to find a way to ignore them, starting with the core functionality they were invented for.

Like a lot of things about what's happening to Battle Royale in Chapter 5, it feels super weird, and very divorced from the Fortnite I used to know and enjoy. Their attempts to try and tie everything together like this so that Battle Royale can have elements of all (or most) of the other modes incorporated into it just don't mesh very well or feel very necessary. They're recreating and then solving problems that were already solved four years ago.

Which is ultimately the bummer: I'm not sold that any of this needs to be inside of Fortnite, and I don't think it's going to pay off in the end. It's hurting the core experience a little bit and the best, most fun new modes would have still been fun as standalone games.

I just don't see the point. How big is big enough, Epic?

#writing #epic games #fortnite #lego fortnite #fortnite festival #rocket racing #psyonix #harmonix #rock band

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